(1) Existing law permits the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to enter into agreements with regulatory officials of other states and the United States Department of Agriculture to provide for the use of various pest risk mitigation measures at the place of origin of the shipment of the plants. Existing law specifies that the agreement may designate the plants or varieties of plants to which those measures are applied as being commodities that may be released upon arrival at ports of entry or terminals in this state without being held and inspected for compliance with standards and quarantine requirements. Existing law makes a violation of the Food and Agricultural Code a misdemeanor.

This bill would expand the above-described provisions to shipments of bee colonies.

(2) Existing law establishes milk standards for market milk and cream. Existing law authorizes the secretary, upon the request of any interested person, to grant a temporary standard for a new milk product or a new product resembling a milk product for an initial period of one year, as provided.

Existing law requires that market milk, at the time of delivery to the consumer, contain not less than 3.5% of milk fat and not less than 8.7% of solids not fat, and provides that those minimum percentages of milk fats and solids not fat may vary by an amount no greater than 0.1 of 1%, if the total combined percentages of milk fat and solids not fat, at the time of delivery to the consumer, equals or exceeds 12.2%.

This bill, notwithstanding the above requirements for market milk, would require that market milk, as described to include 6 percent milk, to contain not less than 6% of milk fat and not less than 8.7% of solids not fat at the time of delivery to the consumer, and would permit those minimum percentages of milk fat and solids not fat to vary by an amount no greater than 0.1 of 1%, if the total combined percentages of milk fat and solids not fat equals or exceeds 14.7% at the time of delivery to the consumer. The bill would authorize the secretary to establish milk standards for 6 percent milk sold in the state. The bill would require 6 percent milk to meet all standards and requirements for market milk, except as provided, and would require 6 percent milk to be labeled in accordance with applicable federal laws. The bill would require that the term “6 percent milk” or “6% milk” be used as the product name on the product label. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

(3) Existing law creates the Office of Farm to Fork within the Department of Food and Agriculture, and requires the office, to the extent that resources are available, to work with various entities, as prescribed, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state. Existing law also creates the Farm to Fork Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, which consists of money made available from federal, state, industry, and other sources, and continuously appropriates the money deposited in the account without regard to fiscal years to carry out the purposes of the office. Existing law, until January 1, 2020, requires the department, in any year in which funds are received into or expended from the account, to submit to the Legislature an overview of the account’s income and expenditures.

This bill would extend to January 1, 2025, the date until which the department would be required to submit that overview of the account to the Legislature.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.